MILWAUKEE -- Corey Dickerson is back with the Pirates, but not yet active. Soon, his presence will force the Pirates to make difficult decisions daily.
The Pirates did not reinstate Dickerson from the 60-day injured list before Friday’s series opener against the Brewers at Miller Park, but they intend to activate him and infielder Jung Ho Kang on Saturday. Then, their National League Gold Glove Award-winning left fielder will join an increasingly crowded outfield picture.
“He’s hit over 20 homers. He’s won a Gold Glove. He’s hit .300. He brings edge and energy to everything he touches,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “When you add more good players, your team should be better. We anticipate welcoming him back to make us better.”
Dickerson has not played for Pittsburgh since April 3 due to a right posterior shoulder strain. Kang has not played since May 11 due to a left side strain. The Pirates will have to remove two players from their active roster and clear one spot on their 40-man roster (for Dickerson) before Saturday’s game.
When Dickerson is back, what will the Pirates do with him? It might seem like a silly question considering he hit .300 with an .804 OPS while playing elite defense last season, especially because the Bucs were rotating J.B. Shuck, Jason Martin, Pablo Reyes and Colin Moran through left field immediately after Dickerson’s injury. Just play him, right?
But the Pirates’ outfield situation has changed over the past two months. Right fielder Gregory Polanco is back, healthy and starting to rediscover his swing. Center fielder Starling Marte has caught fire at the plate after a rough April. Veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera hasn’t stopped hitting since the day he arrived. Neither has rookie outfielder Bryan Reynolds.
With Dickerson on board, the Pirates will have five quality outfielders and only three spots to use them. Cabrera, Reynolds and Polanco got the nod on Friday against Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Woodruff. But how will Hurdle fill out his lineup card going forward?
“Baseball has a funny way of playing its way out how it should be,” Dickerson said. “All of us understand there’s a bunch of guys doing well and playing well, and it all works out in the end, usually. We try our best just to pull for one another. I’m never one of those guys to hope for playing time or something like that. You just go out there and handle your business the best way possible, and things work out for the best.”
Dickerson has not played on three consecutive days since last season. He started on March 28 (Opening Day), March 31 and April 1 before he was sidelined. During his rehab assignment, Dickerson started two games in a row followed by an off-day, then two more consecutive starts, one day off and so on.
In other words, Dickerson won’t immediately become an everyday player. The Pirates will ease him in like they’re still doing with Polanco, who has not started more than three days in a row since his April 22 return from September shoulder surgery. Hurdle has been bundling Polanco’s starts two or three games at a time; he’ll likely do the same with Dickerson, at least initially.
Friday was only the second time Marte has been out of the starting lineup since he returned from the injured list on April 30. The Pirates could give him more preventative rest days, keeping him fresh for the long haul, with Reynolds as a viable backup option in center field.
The switch-hitting Reynolds can play all three outfield spots, and that versatility should help keep his bat in the lineup on a regular (if not everyday) basis -- assuming he’s not optioned to make room for Dickerson, that is.
As for the switch-hitting Cabrera? The Pirates will pick their spots for him to start, as they did on Friday. They also like having his veteran bat as an option in high-leverage pinch-hitting spots. Cabrera is a threat from either side -- he has an .805 OPS against right-handers and a .933 against lefties this season -- and he’s hardly intimidated by big moments, given his experience.
That sounds sustainable for a while, but a trade could eventually become a possibility. Dickerson and Cabrera will be free agents at the end of the season, making them expendable if the Pirates continue to lag behind the National League Central and Wild Card leaders and start looking toward next season.
Marte, Polanco and Reynolds are less likely to be dealt, as they are part of Pittsburgh’s cost-controlled core. Marte is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, with club options for next season ($11.5 million) and 2021 ($12.5 million). Polanco’s deal has two more guaranteed years remaining after this along with club options for ’22 ($12.5 million) and ’23 ($13.5 million).